Born of Fire and Flood by Bryce Allen

Author:Bryce Allen [Allen, Bryce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Beaten

Jenna sat alone, her supper of stew, an apple, and a sweet roll sat before her. She hadn't come down for lunch. She was too far away, too lost in her thoughts. She'd practiced some rapier, read a little, and thought.

Several rough looking men returned from the mine for supper. They stared at her, but none of them spoke to her. Too tired from the mines, Jenna supposed.

The apple was tart, but the stew was thick and savory. The inn didn't skimp on the meat like many places did.

She ate slowly. She wanted Oliver to join her. The weight of this knowledge was heavier than her anger, thus tipping the scales in Oliver's favor. Her logical mind knew he'd been in a difficult place, and the rest of her knew she needed him to reach the Conclave.

She didn't want to admit it, but she'd grown accustomed to his company. In its simplest form, she just wanted to be near him.

A very real possibility occurred to her. Oliver might not come back. He'd already been gone for longer than Jenna thought he would. Maybe he decided the hunt was more important than his promises to the random girl he was helping.

That wouldn't be good.

After numerous experiments with the water in her room, Jenna decided that she would go mad if she didn't learn more.

She could not be casually told that she has the power to manipulate water, then be placed at an inn to serve. The more Jenna thought about it, the more sense Oliver made by telling her as little as possible.

Jenna cursed her logical mind. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to slap Oliver across the face and scream at him. Despite herself, she saw the situation from his view and it made sense. Everything he'd done made sense, except the kiss.

Jenna's mind would devour itself if she let it.

The door opened and Jenna looked up expectantly. Another miner, face blackened with soot and stone. He winked at Jenna, then hobbled to a group seated at the bar. Jenna blushed and lowered her gaze to her soup. That shy, awkward girl was still there, just beneath the surface.

On one hand, she was excited about the prospect of discovering all these secrets. The Magi, the Church, her own abilities, even Solare gave her the thrill of discovery.

On the other hand, she hated herself for all of it. Every excited butterfly in her stomach was snuffed out by guilt. Rufus was dead. Her parents were dead. A madman was roaming the empire, burning thousands of people to death.

How dare she be excited? How selfish could she be?

She soon discovered she couldn't help but feel excited at times. Since Oliver had left, she flew from one extreme to another.

The door opened again, but Jenna didn't look up. She was tired of gawking at miners.

Heavy, even steps told her the man was standing in front of her table. She looked up, and she fought back the urge to smile. She didn't want to seem too eager.

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